Which do you prefer for home automation and why?
Please list what automation devices you use with it as well.
I'm trying to start building up home automation and am overwhelmed by the amount of products available. I've currently got an iPhone (will swap to Android in the near future) but would prefer to have home automation with either Amazon or Google products as I think they are superior to Siri in terms of voice recognition.
This is what I use, but it’s not for novices.
Yeah, but OP saying they wanted to bring together different elements made me think it would be worth mentioning. If you want the lights in your lounge to come on with a subtle hint of the sunset outside as the sun goes down, then the blinds to automatically close as the light transitions into warm white where the colour temperature is related to the stock price of the NAB bank, HA is where you come in.
Voice interfaces are best used as just that, voice interfaces - you hit the bounds of what they can do quite quickly. Plus the 'cloudiness' is a pain if the NBN can't be trusted. With HA you can avoid the likes of google and amazon entirely if you really want.
Depends which one you would prefer to store and use your private information and discussions
Only Apple has no monetary incentive to collect data to aid their primary business.
yes they do.. their incentive is to better their own services
apple say they dont sell your data, nothing about them not storing and using them for their own purposes
don't forget Cortana
Using your voice to turn shit on and off gets old pretty quickly. I wouldn't start building your system around which voice assistant you want to use, instead look at the actual lights etc..
I think of my old LIFX bulbs had Siri support then they would be used more often. if it had HomeKit support then they would be used way more often, just swipe up to get the light controls.
Disagree with this (in my case at least). Lying in bed and then saying "Hey Siri, turn off the lights" has yet to get old and is far more preferable than getting up to turn off the lights.
For sure it is. But its easier to have a bedside Xiaomi button or something like that to do it. Voice control is a good backup when there isn't some other way.
i use google home mini with sengled globes and hub also Blackbean for aircon and heating control through google
Seriously, does no-one watch Mr Robot.
not anymore. Season 2 ruined it.
It did, didn't it.
Google Home. More support for home automation products.
Not true.
The best of the bunch right now is definitely Amazon Alexa. It has tiny far the most wide ranging support thanks to its App Store (skills), which means that most things are compatible. For things that aren’t, you can run a raspberry pi with home assistant or ha bridge and almost anything will work. Alexa also allows you to customise and create your own skills- for example you can program ‘Alexa, sextime’ and she’ll crank up the heating, turn the lights down and pink, and start playing ‘Let’s get it on’ in the background.
Google/Alexa both have their good and bad features. Which is better for you depends on you. Keep in mind that for the most part they do not automate your house but rather allow you to interact with your house with your voice.
Home automation is getting home and the lights turning on as you open the door or even before that. Getting an alert on your mobile when mail arrives, perhaps with a lamp flashing. The curtains going up or down depending on the sun. That sort of thing.
If you are just starting out, I'd get a Xiaomi 5 in 1 kit (ZigBee gateway with some modules) and play with that with a Google mini or Alexa dot. Personally I'd use a Google mini/home rather than dot as it seems better at responding to requests (https://www.the-ambient.com/news/google-assistant-accuracy-t…) plus my google play music subscription gives us YouTube red so no ads, but the difference is fairly minor so again the choice is yours.
I have Mi Home app from Xiaomi…13 devices, incl. globes, door sensors, 1 switch and 1 camera (an extra coming), endless scenarios to set up and play with…door bell turns on outside and front door light after dark etc., hall light comes on for 3 minutes after 7.30pm etc etc. Great security system…free of charges .. Mainland China server is the only concern :)
Whats the concern with foreign servers?
I use these as the sound is amazing!
Also for the price, it's cheaper than a Bluetooth speaker with better audio. Plus has Cortana!
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/harman-kardon-invoke-with-…
I have Alexa in 4 different rooms which automates a bunch of lights, my garage door and my aircon. All the devices are z-wave, and i use a Vera Edge as the z-wave hub.
Works very well.
From what i've seen, Alexa has a much wider compatibility with devices, while google is better to talk to and better integration with google stuff (obviously). Alexa integrates with google calendar but thats about it i think.
Keep in mind that as well as the voice device (alexa/google home) you'll need a hub (unless you get the Echo Plus which has a hub built in). Try to get one that can do both z-wave and zigbee as it gives you more flexibility. A lot of cheap zigbee devices out of china.
Just a heads up though, unless you're doing simple stuff like just putting in zigbee-enabled lightbulbs, home automation is not super-straight-forward and requires a lot of tinkering.
p.s. Alexa also allows you to use the Echo's as an intercom between rooms, which is handy, allows you to call other people's Alexa devices (in their house), and even call phones (in the US only atm, but will probably come to AU eventually)
Alexa echo plus
Home Assistant : https://www.home-assistant.io/